12 August 2012 Fenton Zawiya, Michigan
Ramadan Series, Suhbah after Fajr (1)
Allahumma salli `alaa Sayyidina Muhammad, hatta yarda Sayyidina Muhammad! Salloo `alaa an-Nabi (s).
A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytaani 'r-rajeem. Bismillahi 'r-Rahmaani 'r-Raheem.
Nawaytu 'l-arba`een, nawaytu 'l-`itikaaf, nawaytu 'l-khalwah, nawaytu 'l-`uzlah,
nawaytu 'r-riyaadah, nawaytu 's-sulook, nawayna as-siyaam lillahi ta`alaa fee haadha 'l-masjid.
أَطِيعُواْ اللّهَ وَأَطِيعُواْ الرَّسُولَ وَأُوْلِي الأَمْرِ مِنكُمْ
Ati`oollaha wa ati`oo 'r-Rasoola wa ooli 'l-amri minkum.
Obey Allah, obey the Prophet, and obey those in authority among you. (Surat an-Nisaa, 4:59)
Yesterday we explained, “A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytani 'r-rajeem. Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem,” and the continuation to Surat al-Fatihah.
وَإِنْ أَحَدٌ مِّنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ اسْتَجَارَكَ فَأَجِرْهُ حَتَّى يَسْمَعَ كَلاَمَ اللّهِ ثُمَّ أَبْلِغْهُ مَأْمَنَهُ ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ قَوْمٌ لاَّ يَعْلَمُونَ
Wain ahadun mina ‘l-mushikeena istajaaraka faajirhu hattaa yasma`a kalaama Allaahi thumma ablighhu mamanahu thaalika biannahum qawmun laa ya`lamoon.
(If someone) asks you for asylum, grant it to him so that he may hear the Word of Allah, then escort him to where he can be secure.” (Surat at-Tawbah, 9:6)
We said, “When someone asks for your protection, you have to give them asylum.” If anyone runs to you from an evil power that is destroying their home and life, what will you do? Anyone will protect him. And then, “If he comes to you, remind him of Allah's Words and then take him to a safehaven.”
When you say, “A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytani 'r-rajeem. Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem,” who are you saying it to? The One Who revealed the ayah to the Prophet (s), which instructs us to take care of whomever comes to us for asylum and to teach him Allah's Words. After he listens to Allah's Words and accepts, then take him to a safehaven where he will be protected from anyone who might be following him. If anyone goes to a king seeking asylum, do you think he will not protect them? Of course he would! So if you run to Allah (swt) seeking refuge, what will happen? It means He is teaching us some hints so we can be safe. Allah (swt) tells us to say, “A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytani 'r-rajeem,” and He will save us from His Punishment as He does not really want to punish anyone, so He instructs us to say this, which then takes us to a safehaven where Shaytan has no power.
Allah (swt) is Maalik al-Mulook, The King of Kings. Mulook can die, but only the Real King can live forever. Only Allah (swt) is that and He can live forever! Say, “Allah! He is the One Who exists!” Everyone else has no existence, but we cannot say that for the Prophet (s), as he existed in Allah’s Presence before any creation, so he is Divine as he is from Noorillah! Huwa ‘n-noor yahdi ‘l-haa’ireen... (from Qasida) He is the Light that guides like a beacon on the seashore or at the airport that guides those who are confused about where to go. On the Day of Judgment, he will be the shade, the shade of the Messenger of Allah (s)!
If you knock at the door, Allah (swt) tells us to ring the bell. Here in New York they have a bell, they press a button to ring it, and everyone is happy! Why are they happy when they charge you money for it? They are taking their money and are like parasites sucking their blood, living on people's money, but people are happy with their bell. That is the bell of Shaytan, while the bell of Allah (swt) is “A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytani 'r-rajeem.” He is the King of Kings and The One who says:
يَوْمَ هُم بَارِزُونَ لَا يَخْفَى عَلَى اللَّهِ مِنْهُمْ شَيْءٌ لِّمَنِ الْمُلْكُ الْيَوْمَ لِلَّهِ الْوَاحِدِ الْقَهَّارِ
Yawma hum baarizoona laa yakhfa `ala ’Llahi minhum shayun limani ’l-mulk al-yawma lillahi al-Waahid al-Qahhaar.
The Day whereon they will (all) come forth; not a single thing concerning them is hidden from Allah. Whose will be the Dominion that Day? That of Allah, The One, The Irresistible!
(Surat al-Ghaafir, 40:16)
He is the One who glorifies Himself by Himself! In this ayah He asks, “To whom is the kingdom today?” He is not asking you to answer, He is answering Himself, to His Honor. He is not in need of our answers! Nafsahu bi-nafsi, He glorifies Himself by Himself! No one can glorify Allah (swt) the way He glorifies Himself, as He mentions in the Qur’an:
سُبْحَانَ الَّذِي أَسْرَى بِعَبْدِهِ لَيْلاً مِّنَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ إِلَى الْمَسْجِدِ الأَقْصَى الَّذِي بَارَكْنَا حَوْلَهُ لِنُرِيَهُ
مِنْ آيَاتِنَا إِنَّهُ هُوَ السَّمِيعُ البَصِيرُ
Subhaan-alladhee asraa bi `abdihi laylan min al-masjid al-haraam ila 'l-masjidi 'l-aqsaa 'Lladhee baaraknaa hawlahu li-nooriyahu min ayaatinaa innahu huwa ‘s-Samee`u 'l- Baseer.
Glory be to He Who transported His Servant by night from the Inviolable House of Worship (at Mecca) to the Remote House of Worship (at Jerusalem), the environs of which We had blessed so that We might show him some of Our symbols, for verily He Alone is All-Hearing, All-Seeing. (Surat al-Israa’, 17:1)
In this ayah, Allah (swt) is praising Himself by Himself, as there is no way you can understand the Mi`raaj and so to show that this is something extraordinary, above miracles and beyond universes, Allah (swt) said, subhaanee ma `azhama shaanee, “Glory be to Me! I am the Greatest! No one can know Me!” laa tudrikahu ‘l-absaar wa huwa yudriku ‘l-absaar, there is no way to see Him with our eyesight or in a vision, nor to even understand about Him! But He can reach anyone from among His creation: angels, jinn, human beings and all else that He created.
It is mentioned in many ahadith and sayings of the Sahaabah (r) that Allah (swt) sends revelation to the bee regarding where to go and find its nectar. Allah (swt) reveals to the bee which flower to go to in order to find its food. Scientists say a bee can fly up to 400 km to reach its food, and it also knows the way there and the return. We say, they know the way through Divine Revelation and they can smell where their queen bee is and they follow that light to reach there, because light emits from the hive. Honey is shifa’a, as imentioned in the Qur’an:
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ قَدْ جَاءتْكُم مَّوْعِظَةٌ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ وَشِفَاء لِّمَا فِي الصُّدُورِ وَهُدًى وَرَحْمَةٌ لِّلْمُؤْمِنِينَ
Yaa ayyuha ‘n-naasu qad ja’atkum maw`izhatun min rabbikum wa shifaa’un limaa fi ‘s-sudoori wa hudan wa rahmatun li ‘l-mu’mineen.
O Mankind! There has come to you a guidance from your Lord and a healing for (the diseases) in your hearts, and for those who believe a guidance and a mercy. (Surat Yunus, 10:57)
َيخْرُجُ مِن بُطُونِهَا شَرَابٌ مُّخْتَلِفٌ أَلْوَانُهُ فِيهِ شِفَاء لِلنَّاسِ
Yakhruju min butoonihaa sharaabun mukhtalifun al-waanuhu feehi shifaa’un li ‘n-naas.
There issues from within the bodies of the bee a drink of varying colors, wherein is healing for Mankind. (Surat an-Nahl, 16:69)
Allah (swt) has put a cure for human beings in honey, not only for the physical body, but also the spiritual body. That is why it is recommended to take a spoon of honey every day.
So He answered Himself by Himself, saying subhaanee ma `azhama sha’anee, “Glory be to Me! How great is My Greatness!” Allah (swt) says this about Himself, which means there is no one great except Allah (swt)! Allah is Great and everyone else is insignificant! Also, Allah (swt) only dressed the Prophet (s) from His Greatness for him to reach Qaaba Qawsayni aw Adnaa; otherwise, he would not have been able to reach there.
Don’t you think if you knock on Allah’s Door that He will give you refuge? What are you running away from evil and sins to knock on the door of hasanaat. When you knock on the Door of al-Kareem, the Generous One, do you think He will say, “No, I don't want you here?” He is al-Qaadir, The One With Absolute Power, and all things are under His Command, so you are going to The One Who can save you!
In an ayah of the Holy Qur'an, Allah (swt) has asked us to come to Him from kullu ’l-maqdooraat, “everything destined.” He said if we come to Him, He will erase all He wrote as our destiny and give us what we want, and He will even erase His Will! Allah (swt) erases whatever He likes; even if He puts you in Hellfire and you run to Him, He will save you from it and put you in Paradise, but only if you come to Him! All He says is, “Come to Me!” and He will save you from jami`ee makhaawaf wa ‘l-aafaat, all that you fear: afflictions, difficulties and problems.
It is said of all of the `uloom , knowledges, of how to come, fafirroo ‘ilaa-Allah, to run toward Allah (swt), to go in and open that door, are in these two words: “a`oodhu billah.” Every knowledge of how to run to Allah is contained in that! Allah (swt) says:
فَفِرُّوا إِلَى اللَّهِ إِنِّي لَكُم مِّنْهُ نَذِيرٌ مُّبِينٌ
Fafirroo ‘ilaa-Allahi innee lakum minhu nadheerun mubeen.
Run (away immediately) to Allah (from harm)! Verily, I am from Him a Warner to you, clear and open. (Surat az-Zaariyat, 51:50)
Run to Allah, fafirroo ‘ilaa-Allah and He will dress you in `uloom al-kutub al-arb`a, the Knowledge of the four different Holy Books. Although you might not know how to know them, in Akhirah you will appear in front of Allah (swt) as an `alim in that, carrying all that knowledge because He dressed you in that. It’s like if someone gave you a jubba and you keep it, wear it all the time and might not take it off, because it is safehaven for you. So if you are running to Allah (swt), He will dress you with that knowledge, but your tongue is frozen to speak those knowledges because it is veiled in the heart. All the knowledges of `uloom al-kutub al-arb`a are in the Qur’an because it came to wrap everything in Islam. Inna ad-deena `indallahi al-Islam, “The religion with Allah is Islam,” so everything is in that Qur’an, and if you read more and more Holy Qur'an you get more and more understanding of the verses.
Recently in Nelson, the imaam recited this ayah at Fajr:
يَا أَيُّهَا الْمُزَّمِّلُ -قُمِ اللَّيْلَ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا نِصْفَهُ أَوِ انقُصْ مِنْهُ قَلِيلًا أَوْ زِدْ عَلَيْهِ وَرَتِّلِ الْقُرْآنَ تَرْتِيلًا إِنَّا سَنُلْقِي عَلَيْكَ قَوْلًا ثَقِيلًا
إِنَّ نَاشِئَةَ اللَّيْلِ هِيَ أَشَدُّ وَطْءًا وَأَقْوَمُ قِيلًاإِنَّ لَكَ فِي اَلنَّهَارِ سَبْحًا طَوِيلًا وَاذْكُرِ اسْمَ رَبِّكَ وَتَبَتَّلْ إِلَيْهِ تَبْتِيلًا
Yaa ayyuhaa ‘l-muzzammilu. Qumi al-layla illa qaleelaan. Nisfahu awi ’nqus minhu qaleela. Aw zid `alayhi wa rattili ’l-quraana tarteela. Innaa sanulqee `alayka qawlan thaqeela. Inna naashiata ‘l-layli hiya ash-haddu watan wa aqwamu qeela. Inna laka fi ‘n-nahaari sabhan taweela. Wa adhkur isma rabbika wa tabattal ilayhi tabteela.
O thou, folded in garments! Stand (in prayer) by night, but not all night, half of it or a little less
or a little more, and recite the Qur'an in slow, measured, rhythmic tones. Soon shall We send down to you a weighty Message. Truly the rising by night is most potent for governing (the soul), and most suitable for (framing) the Word (of prayer and praise). True, there is for you by day prolonged occupation with ordinary duties, but keep in remembrance the Name of your Lord and devote yourself to Him wholeheartedly. (Surat al-Muzzamil, 73:1-8)
I will not explain in detail, but here Allah (swt) addresses the Prophet (s), saying, Yaa ayyuhaa ‘l-muzzammil. Qumi ‘l-layla illa qaleelaan, “O, the one covered up! Wake up during the night and pray.” It means to remain awake for worship the whole night except a small part of it. This was the first Divine Order to the Prophet (s), then Allah reduced it to either half the night until midnight, “or make it less or more.” Wa rattili ’l-quraana, “and during this time, read the Holy Qur'an.” Wa adhkur ismi rabbika. I said to the Imam at Nelson that when I heard this ayah, it was as if I had never heard it or read it before! At that moment, something special in that ayah came to me. We were discussing this in Majalis ash-Dhikr, so you can find what I said in the previous suhbah, because I want you to go back and look for it!
Wa ’dhkur ismi rabbika: Allah (swt) is telling you to remember Him by mentioning His Name; “Isma rabbika” is Allah, “say the Name of your Lord!” So He says, Qul Allah! Idhkurnee bi ismee! “Say ‘Allah!’ Remember my Name!” And unforetunately, some Muslims wrongfully say, “Don't make dhikr of ‘Allah,’ make dhikr with ‘laa ilaaha illa-Llah.’” Okay, “laa ilaaha illa-Llah” is the Declaration of Maqaam at-Tawheed, but Allah is the Ocean of Witnessing, mushahadah, and when you mention Allah’s Name, He will give you everything from that Name, the Highest Name, al-Ism al-`Azham, that we don’t know. All the Prophets asked for it, and Sayyidina Musa (a) also asked Allah (swt) to give him that and He didn’t, but He gave it to the Prophet (s).
So this is what came, the secret of Ism al-`Azham, Allah's Greatest Name! Allah (swt) will dress you with that secret although you don't know it is there, because it his veiled. He will upload that to you and on the Day of Judgment He will download it from you. You will come with that noor! There, you will appear to people like Prophets, shining like a star on a dark night on the Day of Resurrection!
That is why awliyaullah can be seen. These sessions are under the name of Sultan al-Awliya Mawlana Shaykh Nazim (q) and Sultan al-Awliya Grandshaykh `AbdAllah (q) and they will not let us down. They are our lawyers on the Day of Judgment! They will present us to the Prophet (s) and we will be under their wings! Every morning when they make Salaat an-Najaat, all their mureeds pass in front of them one-by-one in every sajda and they present them to the Prophet (s)!
All the four Holy Books are contained in the Qur’an, and all the knowledge of the Qur’an is in Surat al-Fatihah. When you seek refuge in Allah, He will open for you the Secret of Bismillah, and the first letter of the Basmala is in the ‘ba’ and so you cannot get the knowledge except from the ‘ba,” which ’ is Sayyidina Muhammad (s)! The first verse revealed to the Prophet (s) was:
قْرَأْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ
Iqraa bismi Rabbika ’Lladhee khalaq.
Read! In the Name of your Lord Who created. (Surat al-`Alaq, 96:1-2)
Read in the Name of Your Lord! There are many Beautiful Names and Attributes, so which Name to read? Read in the Name of Allah (swt)! If you read in the Name of the Creator, you know the khalq and what He created. Why did Allah (swt) say, “rabbika al-ladhee khalaq.” Of course, the Prophet (s) knows that Allah (swt) is the Creator, but Allah (swt) wants him to open that Door, to enter into that ocean, to take from it and dress the ummah until the Day of Judgment.
So in Whom are we seeking refuge? In al-Kareem, in the Generous One! Will He not take us to safety? And He will give you a safehaven from Shaytan, so what does that make you? It makes you a wali! What makes awliyaullah to be awliya? Of course, they have been granted that by Allah (swt), but also they run away from Shaytan to Allah (swt)! We aren’t speaking about the physical body now, because we are still under sins, but they give that to you and they leave it with the Prophet (s) as a trust, then when you are ready they give you the code to open it and take. They are not in need of it; they are not hoarding it not like us, but they save it and give to the ummah when it is needed.
So by saying, “A`oodhu billah,” you fulfill the requirements of fafirroo ‘ilaa-Allah, run to Allah! We fulfill the order, “Ati`oollaaha!” We run to Allah (swt) by saying, “A`oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytaani ‘r-rajeem.” It will be written for us that Allah (swt) has taken us to a safehaven away from Shaytan and then you will be shining, clean and dressed with all kinds of Allah’s Beautiful Names and Attributes.
May Allah (swt) bless and forgive us.
Bi hurmati 'l-habeeb, bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah.
(A mureed narrates: A miracle happened to [a mureed] yesterday which he is shy to smention. Mawlana Shaykh Hisham gave a suhbat saying the protection of Surat al-Fatihah is complete and that mureed took those words to heart, not like us, and he recited Surat al-Fatihah and one Ikhlaas. For the past year he has not been able to bend his knee and doctors said the will have to replace the joint in his knee, the kneecap. So last night he did three of those treatments that Mawlana described, and all last night he was crying. Today he showed me that he got down on floor and did sajda. For one year he not able to do it and he was shy to say this. I am ashamed, because so many times we listen to you, Mawlana, and it goes in one ear and out the other, and this brother had the imaan to practice what you said.)
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